Do crows migrate?

1 Answer

American Crows can be considered partially migratory. That is, some populations migrate, others are resident, and in others only some of the crows migrate. Crows in the southern parts of their range appear to be resident and not migrate. They may make some changes in their use of space at this time, spending more time off the territory to forage and roost. Crows migrate out of the northern most parts of their range. It has been stated that crows migrate out of those areas where the minimum January temperature averages 0 F. Certainly crows leave the northern Great Plains in the fall, leaving Saskatchewan and Alberta to winter in the lower Plains states of Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma (Kalmbach, E. R., and S. E. Aldous. 1940. Winter banding of Oklahoma crows. Wilson Bull. 52: 198-206). Crows can be seen crossing the Great Lakes in spring and fall, and these birds undoubtedly are migrating to and from parts of Canada. Crows breeding in upstate New York are partially migratory. Breeding